up in yatsugatake the ice wall shuddered and swayed, and everyone knew it was big. that night in akadake kosen we all watched the tv as the tsunami hit, and using the sat phone talked to people in tokyo.
now, a lot of people freaked out and left the country or shut themselves inside and feared for the worst. and things did indeed look bad.
but im proud to say the guys from ICECLIMBINGJAPAN plus a bunch of other guides got involved when and where it mattered.
within 48hrs (it took a day to get back from yatsugatake and sort ourselves out) we were on the ground in fukushima, getting water and food in.
we were there right when the reactor blew.
from there we did another 9 trips into the zone, covering every single part of the coastline from iwaki in southern fukushima thru to hachinohe in aomori. in that first week when so much was destroyed and no one had fuel and the nights were below zero, we got to the worst areas and got supplies in, located missing people, transported paramedics and relayed real time beta back to tokyo.
it was a heavy time.
we drove past that reactor a dozen times, slept in car parks, spent days in areas totally destroyed, saw the immediate effects of mass destruction and loss of life. in our time in the zone we visited morgues and body retrieval units, provided fuel for cremations and water to stranded people.
100 days we spent in the event.
we covered over 10,000km.
what happened up there is unlike any disaster thats come before. whereas the world usually flocks to such events, the element of the blown reactor meant everyone stayed away. the media turned away to watch gaddafi and the royal wedding instead.
what saved the day in that initial critical period was small groups doing what had to be done. yes, the government agencies ran the show, but no one has enough resources to cover a disaster that size - it was the self-motivated groups that just got in there that filled the gaps.
TODAY
japan is sorting it out. things are safe again. any threat from radiation is small unless you are within a very specific area. you are more at risk from living under power lines, passive smoking or taking antibiotics.
this summer Big Canyoning will go ahead and Ice Climbing will be happening this winter - damn right it will!
a letter from a school in takada where we found a bunch of teachers and students trying to make it by on almost no water or food.
notice the added note in english.
our teams commendation from the mayor of takada
